Two participants at the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally have volunteered to be witnesses to the police tear gas and water cannon attack on the Tung Shin Hospital compound in Kuala Lumpur.

The July 9 standoff at Puduraya and Tung Shin between police and protestors occurred when a number of rally participants sought refuge within the hospital compound.

These accounts are contrary to reports by Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai, the hospital board and police force, denying flatly that such an incident had taken place.

NONE Bern Chua ( right) , a postgraduate student, said the firing tear gas into the area where protestors had sought shelter, was a form of punishment for those who participated in the rally, deemed "illegal" by the police.

"It was to make them suffer for joining the event, or else why then would police fire tear gas?

"This is usually done to disperse protestors but during the time when it happened, the latter had nowhere to run," he said in an interview with Malaysiakini .

Chua, who hails from Johor, said in the ensuing chaos, those who ran into the hospital compound did so as they were left with no other avenue to disperse as it had started raining rather heavily that day.

Furthermore, both ends of Jalan Pudu, where the hospital was located, had also been blockaded by the police, added the student, who returned from abroad to visit his family and join the rally.

Sought shelter, only to be gassed

"Most of us who were within the hospital ground sought shelter peacefully, and were aware that we should not disturb the patients," he said.

"We were really under stress. If the police had come it would have been difficult for us as there was no way to escape beyond the hospital ground," he added.

NONE "When they fired tear gas into the compound, we were really, really trapped," he stressed.

Chua condemned the police for firing three canisters into the restricted area, sparking panic and a commotion as protestors had to avoid the painful effects of the gas.

He offered himself as a witness, saying he is determined to set the record straight, adding that he was disturbed at the continuing denials from the authorities when witnesses were willing to verify the facts surrounding the incident.

Responding to claims by 11 doctors from the hospital, police have set up two special teams to investigate the incident.

Two teams to probe non-event

According to Kuala Lumpur CID chief Ku Chin Wah, a special team will investigate claims by the doctors while another team will probe into the whole incident.

NONE Tung Shin Hospital Board had denied that the incident took place but more doctors have come out to condemn the matter.

Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) president Dr Stephen Chow said that the sanctity of hospitals should be respected at all times, including during times of disturbance and unrest.

And yesterday, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua reminded Liow that the party had offered four eyewitnesses to the incident.

Meanwhile, Lim Tuan Chun, from Penang, said when he was seeking shelter within the hospital compound when the police had fired the tear gas into the area.

He added he had seen with his own eyes two gas canisters falling in front of him and behind him but not dare touch them.

"We went to the hospital because we felt safe going there and thought the police would not shoot tear gas at us, but they went ahead," he said.

NONE Lim, ( right ) who is special assistant to Bukit Tengah assemblyperson Ong Chin Wen, said when the incident happened, he was waiting outside the Western medical building.

He and his friends later planned to retreat to the canteen at the hospital's basement, but the owner had turned them away, saying business was about to be closed.

"We felt quite strange because we saw that quite a lot of food at the canteen counter and the owner had allowed foreigners to go inside, but denied us entry. There were about 20 of us there," he said.

Lim is also prepared to a witness to the police proposed investigation to look into allegations into the incident.